What is a defining feature of text-dependent questions?

• A. Cite evidence from the text.
• B. Memorize quotes.
• C. Read unrelated article.
• D. Guess meaning from context.

Answer: (A)

Text-dependent questions require answers to be grounded in the text itself; you must locate specific details, lines, or ideas in the reading and use them to support your response. This shows you’ve read closely, understood how the text develops its points, and can connect evidence to a claim. The defining feature is citing evidence from the text to justify your answer, rather than relying on memory or outside information.

So, the best choice is to cite evidence from the text because it demonstrates you can back up your reasoning with exact references from the reading. Other options don’t fit as well: memorizing quotes isn’t the core requirement—you need to show you can use the text itself to support your answer. Reading unrelated articles doesn’t address the given text, and guessing meaning from context without tying your response to text evidence misses the essential need to base your answer on the specific passage.